Procession
by Yuki KIKI
Summary: MMZ A 'What If' based around how the events of Zero 4 would have been affected if the Guardians had survived the battle against Omega, and how those same events would affect them.
1. An Uncertain Beginning

A/N: Oh dear. It's been a while since I last wrote a fic. Like… years. Wow. Well, to be honest the only reason I haven't posted this sooner was because I thought someone else had probably already done it… much to my infinite surprise, apparently not.

Am I the only one who felt pretty gypped when they found out the guardians had apparently died at the end of MMZ 3 without so much as it being mentioned?

Well, this is my little fan girl version of what it might have been like if they'd survived Omega… Obviously meaning this is an AU, where I'll be taking a few liberties with the plot. However, I'll try my best to keep everyone IC and not stray _too_ far from the original storyline :)

… Here goes… whew

_For your safety, do not forget to unplug Disclaimer after use:_I do not own any of the characters, events, or locations mentioned in this work, they are the legal property of Capcom and whoever else holds a patent or whatever entitling it to them… lucky stiffs…

**Procession**

**1:**

_In Which the Guardians Have a Decidedly Bad Day…_

The first thing Harpuia knew was pain.

Green eyes snapped open, the flickering image of blurred grey barely registering as his mind struggled to process the screaming wave of agony, errors and warnings that his central processing system had been damaged, his autorepair system data hadbeen corrupted, his auto repairsystemswere working at45percent efficiency his centralenergysupplywasnearing critical his emergencyenergysupply hadbeendamagedandoperatingat62percentefficiency-

A violent shudder ran up the former Guardians abused body before the world turned black again.

Consciousness came slowly the second time. He felt his brows furrow as he made a vain effort to sort out the dozens of messages and damage reports exploding into his mind. After a short period he just gave up and allowed those piercing green eyes to flutter open once more. The world was ash. A canvas of scorched cement and blacked steal, crumbling and misshapen, it took a real stretch of the imagination to say the devastated space was once an ancient lab. The condition of the room was a mild surprise to the winged former Guardian, but was the least of his concerns as he slowly turned his head, earning a spike of renewed pain for his effort.

Where… where were the others…?

Fefnir… Leviathan…

Zero…

_The ancient red reploids shoulders heaved as he readjusted his grip on his glowing saber, his face a blank slate despite the desperate cry from the computer above._

"_Zero, don't do it! That's your original body! Don't you feel any attachment? Are you really prepared to spend the rest of your life in that cheap fake?!"_

… Omega…

"_You can do it."_

_Harpuia perked up at the calm, familiar voice as he allowed himself to quickly glance away from the dark, twisted form of Original Zero, Omega, to the soft glowing light floating at the copy Zeros side. Master X… He felt his grip tighten on his twin beam sabers._

"_You know what's truly important. Go on, Zero!"_

_Something flickered across the damaged Zeros face but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, returning to the usual emotionless mask he hid behind. All but his eyes… The deep blue burning with cold resolve and something… something the green reploid couldn't name as Zero shifted his weight, his entire posture instantly changing. He seemed suspended for a moment as time stood still, those passionate dark eyes burning into Harpuias memory, then Zero was gone, blasting across the short distance between himself and the warped mockery of his original form, the green of his saber blurring with speed as it grazed the ground behind him._

_And Sage Harpuia could do nothing but watch._

No… Omega… Zero… was…

_Then there was nothing but white… _

Was he the only one that…

He narrowed his eyes, banishing the dreadful thought from his mind. No… If he had managed to survive the others probably had as well… They _had _to have…

He twisted his neck to look down at the room spread out behind him, his eyes squeezing shut at the sight that greeted him. He turned away again briefly, his jaw clenching as he struggled to detach himself from the image of fraying, exposed wire and partially melted tendons of steal, splaying twisted and broken amidst a sticky pool of red. Another violent spasm ran up his body, eliciting a strained hiss from the exiled Guardian when a single thought rang clear in the muddled confusion of his mind.

He was dying.

His eyes snapped open and he felt his face twist into a scowl as something that remained unbroken inside of him screamed out in denial, howled at the injustice, the unfairness, cried at him to get up get up get up… He braced himself for the worst as he forced his gaze down once again, focusing past his ruined body to survey the remains of the lab. His eyes swept quickly over the carnage before he whipped his gaze around to glare at the sudden movement that he caught from the corner of his eye. A chunk of rubble shifted to slide agonizingly slowly to reveal the taut, ashen face of the former Guardian of fire. Their eyes met briefly, bitter green to wild, unfocused red, and Fefnirs mouth moved, but Harpuia couldn't hear him. It was about this point he first became aware of the muted static that hummed incessantly in his ears. He simply nodded slightly, at least satisfied that one other had survived the blast, before twisting his body to lie on his stomach. A shuddering gasp escaped his lips, his head bowing to rest against the cool ground at the fresh wave of overwhelming agony that wracked his torn body with the movement. Something warm and wet seeped from beneath his cracked helmet to trickle down his face as he clenched his teeth, his pride not allowing him to cry out. He looked up, blinking past the pain to examine the room that lay before him. Much to his surprise the third and last remaining member of the Guardians lay not too far from where he had fallen, her delicate limbs tattered and useless as she lay facedown before him. His lips pursed, the familiar name awkward and clumsy upon his lips.

"Lev… than…" The hoarse whisper cut through the stillness of the destroyed lab, making the prolonged silence that followed feel like a tangible thing, oppressive and heavy as the green Guardian watched helplessly, his companion unnaturally still. Something like panic began to claw its way up the back of his throat, the brutal reality of their fate chewing at the fraying edges of his mind, yet still he tried to push it back, swallow the fear, he was a warrior… a proud warrior of Neo Arcadia…

He tried to reach out to her when suddenly the ground lurched beneath him, his teeth clamped down on his lower lip as his head flopped forward to click audibly on the ground, the sharp pain hitting with such force he had to wait a few moments before the world stopped spinning. He glanced back at where the former fire Guardian lay, Fefnirs eyes were shut now, his face set in a grimace. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze drifted back over to the only female of their group. He reached out slowly with his other arm, the pain pricking but bearable, until his fingertips brushed against her blackened heel…

There was no response.

So this was how it ended…

His head lowered slowly, the weight of bitter acceptance forcing him to look away from her abused form in shame. His head rested gently against the scorched floor, where some ironic part of him knew it would stay forever more. There were no options, there was no way out. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he was… no, they all were the Guardians of Neo Arcadia, for the protection of humanity, always for the humans… Yet, in the end… he had ultimately failed… Something between a choke and a sob wracked his body. He… hadn't been able to save anybody… It had taken everything he'd had… everything they'd all had to stop Omega, leaving Weil to run unchecked… His eyes snapped back into focus.

Weil…

His fingers twitched but the green reploid didn't notice.

Weil…

Burning hate spilled over into his mind, his face twisting with revulsion at the thought of that disgusting, grinning, manipulative madman. For the indignities he and his fellow Guardians endured for the sick maniac's entertainment, for the degradation and perversion of his beloved Master X, for the needless, utterly unforgivable slaughter of countless innocent humans in the name of his selfish ends…

No… he couldn't die here… not while that monster still ran loose…

The thunder reploids cool green eyes opened slowly, his breathing deep and calm as he quickly scanned through any available possibility… there had to be a way out… He gripped onto this new found determination, this anchor of revenge the core he clung to so desperately to keep from loosing himself once more.

His eyes widened, his lips becoming a taut line as suddenly it hit him. He glanced quickly at Leviathan, deeming she should be fine as long as they were physically touching, then quickly twisting his neck to stare at Fefnir, lying unconscious out of reach. He did some quick calculations to determine the fire reploids exact coordinates. He closed his eyes, exhaling softly as he overrode the warning message that what he was about to attempt would drain his power core fully and punched in the trans server number he'd used only once in the past… It was a long shot, but it was the only option left to them.

He tensed, felt the power draining from his body as the world exploded into white, a peculiar feeling of numb weightlessness wrapping around him.

And then there was solid ground beneath him once more, though not the razed, silent ground of the destroyed lab. He landed on his torn knees, his body lurching forward to be caught by his trembling hands. He stared down at them, panting desperately as he tried to force his vision to stop flickering erratically. Wave after wave of warnings and errors washed over his fumbling mind, too many and too quickly for him to process. He was drained… He thought he heard what might have been his name from one of his other two passengers when suddenly the steel doors burst open to reveal several armed guards…

Resistance members…

He saw them gasp, hesitating and gaping openly at what lay before them. Harpuia leaned forward, his lips parting to implore them to please… please save the others… they could do whatever they wanted with him as long as they saved Fefnir… Leviathan…

His eyes widened when no sound escaped his throat.

His vision flickered as though he was blinking rapidly, even though he knew he wasn't before he lost sight entirely in his right eye. He could only watch, his energy long since spent, as the soldiers rushed into the trans server room, guns held at the ready, their colors distorting in Harpuias view… when suddenly the world bent unnaturally, and then there was the sensation of falling, falling, falling into nothingness.

-.-.-

A/N: That's a pretty jerky place to end off… especially for a first chapter…

I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I decided to split what was supposed to be the first chapter into two, seeing as this is such a great place to leave off (as much as I despise reading cliff-hangers, they're undeniably fun to write). This chapter was pretty dark, huh? Well, the next one will actually include some of the promised humour…

Thank you for reading, and please don't hesitate to leave any questions or comments:)

-Yuki


	2. An Uncertain Beginning All Over Again

A/N: First of all I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to leave a review for the previous chapter. To receive such eloquent and supportive feedback was almost enough to make me blush!

Secondly, I apologize for the belated posting of this chapter. It's been a hectic week... Two weeks. Everything from being robbed to an unfortunate acquaintance faking their death. You only think I'm joking.

_Caution! Disclaimer is extremely sharp- please keep away from children:_ Mega Man Zero and all associated characters are property of Capcom, not I. And despite how hard I wish before blowing out my birthday candles every year, that's the way it seems it's going to stay.

**Procession**

**1.5:**

_In Which Certain Death is Narrowly Avoided, Though Sorely Wished For…_

Grey.

Grey.

Grey.

She blinked slowly, the synthetic lids sluggish to reopen to the wavering blur of her surroundings.

Grey.

Grey.

Grey.

The disjointed word echoed over and over in an unending loop through her mind, as though searching for something else to connect to, a memory, an observation, anything to transform it from useless data to a thought, an opinion, _something _so it could be properly processed and filed away somewhere that wasn't an endless loop through her mind.

Her head hurt when her eyes were open, the dull twinge throbbing behind her eyes as if she had two separate bodies, one that was injured and the other experiencing it from miles away. Something strange shifted in her as though it was trying to wake from a long slumber, and she was gripped with the urge to squint her eyes at the offending blur before her… connect it to…

Grey…

It was easier to sleep.

Wall.

Something jolted inside of her. She didn't know how long it had been- hours? Days? But now a certain clarity rang through the fog of her mind as she narrowed her eyes at the offending object at her side.

Grey wall.

Grey… steel?

Grey steel wall.

Her eyes slid shut once more, this time so she could shake her head in an attempt to clear her mind of system repair stats and the dull nothingness that still hung over her conscious thoughts like a smothering veil. Pain lapped eagerly at the edges of her awareness in response to the sudden movement, but was distant enough for her to ignore as she focused intently on the object at her side, willing more information to be dredged up from her stasis weary memories. It was a slow and irritating process.

An indeterminable amount of time later her frown deepened as she glanced around the dark room. She had finally managed to pull her thoughts together at least enough to tell that much. Her vision had already automatically switched over to a more efficient light collecting mode, the strange objects jutting into the darkness organized and well kept enough for her to assume she was lying in a lab.

She being Fairy Leviathan, the third of Master X's guardians…

Former guardians…

She quickly turned away from one nothing to glare sullenly at another nothing, more strange equipment looming out of the darkness to greet her as something inside of her twisted with the painful memory.

And she should be dead.

Her face soured with frustration. What happened? The last thing she'd known was Omega… How had they escaped? Where were the others? And, most importantly, where was _she_? The gaping blank in her memory infuriated her as much as it, as much as she begrudged admitting it, frightened her. She didn't know what to expect- was she with allies? Enemies? Was she… back in Neo Arcadia…? Did the lab she lay in belong to…?

Weil…

Her insides went cold at the thought.

_The conference room was silent when she entered, though she could tell it hadn't been for long. She glanced at her superior officer, the sages arms crossed and face tight as he stared straight forward at the wall across from him, not even sparing her a look. Her gaze swept up the long oval table to meet the smug, superior grin of Dr. Weil. Their eyes met briefly and the old mans withered lips split to reveal crooked teeth distorted by fluid as she tore her gaze away to glare at the table top. _

_Ah, so that was why Harpuia was so tense…_

_She silently pulled the chair beside the green Guardian and wondered why the former exile had decided to show up so early, her mood darkening simply from being in the same room as the warped scientist. _

"_Fairy Leviathan, it does this old heart good to see your pretty little face. Now, what might you be doing here so soon?" she froze halfway before sitting. Actually, she had received notice from the winged Guardian at her side to meet up with him ahead of time to discuss the mad doctor's unexplained reappearance… apparently somehow Weil had found out about it…_

"_**Guardian**__ Leviathan requested to meet up with me ahead of time to discuss future modifications in her soldiers training routines." Harpuia interjected, an uncharacteristic edge in his cool voice as he turned to meet the scientists gaze. "And what made you decide to show up almost an hour early for a conference meeting? I would have thought you'd have more important matters to attend to than sitting alone in the debriefing room." Leviathan inwardly winced as she continued to plunk down on the cold, uncomfortable chair, wondering off hand what Weil had said to Harpuia to needle him to the point of being so bold. _

"_Ah… so Ms. Leviathan can't answer for herself anymore? Or do you perhaps assume her to be your property now as well, Harpuia?" her lips pursed at the sly tone in the old mans voice, stormy blue eyes snapping up to glare at the doctor sitting at the head of the table. From the way the green reploids shoulders bunched beside her, she could tell he didn't like it either, and she couldn't help but feel from her superior's reaction and Weils tone that this probably touched on something that had been discussed before. However, just as suddenly as it happened, Harpuia relaxed as though he'd just exhaled his irritation, his body visibly melting back into the chair as he turned back away from Weil to stare at the wall again, embittered green eyes the only outward sign of his indignant rage. For once Leviathan decided to follow suit, closing her eyes and forcefully unclenching her fists under the table._

"_I am no ones property. I belong only to Master X." she tried to ignore the knowing smirk her retort earned, not liking the connotations that went with it._

"_Then your 'Master' is quite lucky indeed," the cruel scientists lips curled back into a sneer, obvious delight dancing in cold eyes as she met his gaze once more only to find it unsettlingly seeming to bore straight into her. She tried not to squirm as she stared, transfixed and mortified, as he continued. "The thought of a sweet thing like you calling me 'Master' is… really quite exciting…" A blood red tongue lapped out quickly to run along the corner of his shrivelled lip, eyes narrow and merciless. The moment was broken by the sound of a chair scraping loudly across the floor, and as two sets of eyes wheeled around to stare at her, she realized with some slight surprise it was she who had suddenly stood up. _

"_Where are you going, Fairy Leviathan?" the slick old voice drawled, amusement drawn over Weils face._

"… _I don't talk to __**pigs**__. I'm leaving." The blue Guardian spat in return as she coolly whipped around to face the door._

"_Under who's authority? You can't just walk out of a meeting, Ms. Leviathan." Her hand froze on the keypad, heat rising in her cheeks as she realized what the mad scientist said was perfectly true. _

"… _Leviathan, go into my office and download the training programs there, you can modify them in any manner you see fit to be relevant to your troops. I'll fill you in on any important points that come up in the discussion afterwards." Harpuia glanced meaningfully over his shoulder at the aqua reploid. "You are dismissed."_

_She simply nodded in return, her last impression of the debriefing room was a quick glimpse of stoic green and Weil, giving her a look like the cat who'd got the cream._

She repressed a shudder, dread weighing on her insides. No! She would rather _die_ than become one of Weils play things! She tried to struggle, only to find her limbs had been disabled for repair. She whipped her head around to stare wide-eyed at the door at the sudden hiss that broke the silence of the lab. She barely caught a glimpse of her captor when suddenly the pain exploded into her mind.

Damn! Those were bright!

She squinted and blinked rapidly until her vision could adjust to the sudden light that filled the room. A low chuckle was her reward as she shook her head before glaring at the strange man… reploid.

"You're awake!" he chimed, a reserved smile tugging at the edges of his thin lips. The former Guardian gave him a suspicious look, and did her very best to not look totally powerless. It didn't work very well. She didn't recognize the greying reploid, or more accurately, she didn't recognize what she could _see _of the greying reploid around the wide silver visor covering his eyes. Then again, Weil had ushered in a whole new world of staff she'd yet to meet… Well, at least his tone didn't sound _outright_ malicious… She gathered all the authority she could muster, gazing intently at where she assumed his eyes most likely were, and asked who he was.

Or she would have, if any noise escaped her throat. The blue reploids eyes popped open, her mouth dropping into a little pink 'o' in surprise before snapping shut again.

"Oh yes," the green clad engineer (she sorely hoped he was an engineer, considering he was bringing out what appeared to be a tool kit, and seemed to have every intention of using it on her) added absently as he busied himself with preparations. "Zero advised me to shut down your vocal systems until _after_ we finished with your repairs, to 'spare us the headache'." The strange reploid gave her what she assumed was supposed to be a comforting smile. It didn't comfort her. "I do apologize for the inconvenience."

Her eyes widened impossibly further as it clicked.

Zero?

_Zero?!_

Her lips pressed into a taut line. First came rage at the memory of the forever better-than-every-damn-one reploid, then confusion, then sheer _disbelief._

That would mean she was with the-!

Her suspicions were confirmed when the door hissed open once more to reveal a much shorter, pink clad human who froze halfway into the lab, gentle smile wavering as her soft blue eyes met the stormy blue of the one disabled on the table before her.

"Ceil? Is there something wrong?" the Resistance engineer looked up when he noticed his leaders hesitation.

"… It looks like her eyes are screaming…"

"Ah."

-.-.-

A/N: And that's the rest of the first chapter :)

To answer a question raised by a reviewer, I do have a couple pairings kicking around my head for this fic- however, the romantic aspect will remain a subplot (and be almost entirely one-sided, because yes, I am that mean ;p) to mostly just show character growth, as opposed to kicking off major plot developments. Sorry to disappoint, but I figured that way it wouldn't detract too much for anyone who's not too big on the planned pairings… that and romance really isn't my forte... As for what the planned pairings are- you'll just have to wait and see!

And no worries! This is pretty much it for the overly heavy chapters, I just needed to keep it in a rather serious mood to set things up. Things get a lot lighter in the next few chapters… really, I mean it this time.

As always, thanks for reading, and please feel free to review! It really does an author a world of good to get positive feedback (or constructive criticism) for their work!


	3. Exposition, Exposition, Exposition

A/N: Once again, many thanks to everyone who left a review, I can't believe there's so many for just two chapters! I really don't know what more to say other than I'll try my best to live up to your expectations:)

I have no real excuse for not updating sooner this time- I got caught up with reading Bob and George…

_Disclaimer is for external use only:_ I don't own anything vaguely Mega/Rock Man related… alas.

**Procession **

**2:**

_In Which __there is Much Exposition, and a Moral Decision is Made _

So that was how Fairy Leviathan spent the next week or so.

Lying down, lying down, and just to spice things up a bit, lying down.

She decided the first thing she would do once she was in full control of her vocal faculties again was _scream_.

Every day Ceil and Cerveau (or at least that's what the Resistance leader called the other reploid) would stroll in to continue with the blue reploids rather extensive repairs. Sometimes it was both of them, sometimes only one, and they'd plug away at her systems sometimes for hours, sometimes they'd only pop in long enough to give a certain part a hard look, murmur something to one another and slip back out again in a matter of minutes. Either way, they'd always go about this bizarre little routine calm, cool, casual, chatting with one another playfully or even chattering away at the water Guardian about inane things like the weather, as if putting one of their mortal enemies back together piece by piece was a totally normal, _sane_ thing to be doing. At first Leviathan could really do nothing more than stare incredulously, completely floored at how… bizarre the whole situation was. At first.

Now all she wanted was a tv, a radio, some form of actual contact with the outside world beyond Cerveaus occasional weather reports. It could be raining the fire and brimstone of the apocalypse and she'd still happily skip across the desert if it meant getting off the thrice-be-damned steel service table. Her visitors consisted either of the polite but mostly aloof Cerveau, or an insanely polite, soft spoken and slightly haggard looking Ceil. No one else. Never anyone else. The blue reploid was starting to wonder if it was just the three of them in the whole worthless little hole they called a base. Hell, she was even starting to wonder if Zero would ever poke his head in. Or did he think he was too _good_ to see how she was doing? The water reploid could actually feel her internal temperature rise slightly with indignant rage at the thought of him sneering down his smug little nose at her current weakness, and decided the second thing she'd do once she was in full control of her vocal faculties again was scream at the ancient reploid. She sorely hoped he'd gotten his damn legs blown off…

It was easy for her to get caught up in these kinds of thoughts, and though she did her very best to look either offended or just give her saviours the cold shoulder while they were working on her, she was secretly as grateful as she was resentful of their company. Even if it was just irritating news about some stupid Resistance member spraining an ankle or something equally trivial, or another weather report to say it was dry, it was hot, it was a freaking desert, it did help to take her mind off the gnawing questions that came with the silence of the small lab.

Where was Harpuia?

Where was Fefnir?

Why hadn't they come for her? Why hadn't either of them sent her some kind of signal? A message? Were they being held captive here too? Why wouldn't her distantly cheerful mechanics tell her anything about them? Were they hurt? Were they…

… dead…?

A faint impression would drift into her mind then of a forgotten lab buried for centuries, of faces as familiar to her as her own, achingly familiar limbs twisted and broken and cold, so cold, buried in the darkness deep, deep beneath the earth to be forgotten as well… The thought inspired a fruitless rage within her so profound it upset her to even think of it. Rage toward the ruthless Weil for tearing apart everything she'd built her life around, rage toward Zero for not saving the others, rage toward her fellow Guardians for being weak, for leaving her behind…

So that was how Fairy Leviathan spent the next week or so.

Lying down, lying down, and just to spice things up a bit, lying down, waiting for the two now familiar faces of Ceil and Cerveau to interrupt the endless cycle of her thoughts. Each time desperately absorbing any useless tidbit about Resistance life or the weather they dropped in her presence, in case any hint of the fire or thunder reploid came up, all the while pretending she was ignoring them because the former Guardians pride couldn't stand the thought of showing her quiet weakness to her enemies. And she wished, hoped, prayed for something, _anything_ to come along and break the monotony of her current state before she went insane, lying mute and disabled on that thrice-be-damned steel service table.

Then one day, without warning, something did.

Sea blue eyes fluttered open resentfully, the disabled Guardians small peach nose wrinkling with her distaste at being roused from her sleep. She turned to frown at the perpetrator that had so rudely flicked on the lights. It took her processor a few seconds to register that the tall, slender individual that stood at ease in the doorway was most certainly not, in fact, either the familiar Ceil or Cerveau. However, she knew the coolly confident gait with which he sauntered into the room, the purposeful perfection that was each flowing movement, the quiet power held in his loosely clenched hands- hands that had slaughtered thousands since his dark creation- the hauntingly beautiful, perfectly empty face, those cruelly intelligent glassy eyes that even now surveyed the blue reploid with unnerving precision.

Leviathan knew her enemy.

Her teeth clenched as her burning blue eyes evenly met his cold, calculating gaze, her fists balling at her sides as the ancient red reploid glided to the base of the repair flat, his visage forever impassive, long blond hair swaying softly with his movements as his armoured boots clicked smartly across the tiled floor to stop at her side. There he stood in silence, eying his felled opponent suspiciously as the female Guardian glared viciously back, her teeth unconsciously bared in open animosity. The quiet battle of wills lasted only a moment before Zero unexpectedly leaned forward, intense blue eyes burning into her own as a moment of panic gripped the female Guardian, along with the strange, silly notion that he was going to kiss her while she was incapacitated.

To which she would have retaliated by ripping his perverted face off with her teeth, naturally.

Instead he stopped short, the red reploids eyes narrowing ever so slightly as they bored into her own.

"Leviathan," his flat tone was as unreadable as his passionless expression. "Get up."

Leviathan blinked in surprise, her entire visage changing in an instant to confusion, then indignant anger. Had he really disturbed her sleep just to _mock_ her? She grit her teeth and scowled up at the legendary reploid, she was Fairy Leviathan of the Four Guardians! She would _not_ stand for this! Her eyes squeezed shut as she turned away, her desire to hit him so potent she could swear she could feel her arm swinging upwards-

The ocean reploids eyes popped open in shock, her head whipping round again at the sudden pressure on her wrist. Zero quirked an impeccable eyebrow as he purposefully squeezed the thin wrist he'd caught en route to the side of his face, the former Guardians dainty palm cupped to slap. The blue Generals wide-eyed gaze wandered from the dispassionate reploids face over to her captured hand. She tentatively wiggled her fingers.

"Your systems were reactivated while you were sleeping." The red reploids neutral voice broke the silence once more, the barest hint of a frown tugging at the corner of his lip as he released the blue Guardians hand, which she hastily snatched back to cross over her chest stubbornly.

"I knew that." She huffed in annoyance as she turned away from him once more so he couldn't see the color rising in her cheeks.

-.-.-

Fierce red eyes narrowed as the former Guardian of fire glared over the bare metal table at the steel door that stood on the other side of the room. It was closed. He tried readjusting his position on the uncomfortable chair. He started drumming his thick, powerful fingertips on the table top. His gaze quickly scanned around the barren steel room again. And once again, he was rewarded with nothing more than four undecorated walls, a table, four chairs, a light, and a heavily fortified steel door. That was still closed. He readjusted his position again, his knee bouncing impatiently as he cupped his cheek with one hand. His other continued to tap tunelessly against the table. He readjusted his position once more. His long powerful legs stretched to poke out from under the other side of the table, idly hooking around the other chairs legs and shuffling it back and forth noisily with his toes. He crossed his bulky, muscular arms across his barrel chest and snorted in disdain. Then he leaned down, crossed his bulky, muscular arms on the table and buried his face in them, nothing but his narrow red eyes and wicked horned helmet poking out above the mass of wiry muscle as he continued to glare at the door. It remained closed.

Fefnir sighed mightily and came to the conclusion for the thousandth time that he would give his left hand for his gun (but not his right- that was his favourite trigger hand).

Well, he supposed it was better than being stuck on that thrice-be-damned steel service table…

He tried readjusting his position again, his massive bulk refusing to fit comfortably on the much-too-small chair, its thin metal legs screeching against the floor in protest. Fefnir sighed loudly again.

… A little.

By this point he had his elbows leaning heavily on the table, his chin propped up by two clenched fists, the fire reploid looked more like he was sulking than scowling at the (still closed) metal door. He was just preparing to sigh a third time when a loud clank echoed through the door. Fefnir perked up. A heartbeat passed, the large battle reploid gripped the edge of the table, then a sliver of light leaked into the room through a small crack in the door. The door paused, then slowly swung the rest of the way open, the sole occupant of the room leaping to his feet, the small uncomfortable chair clanging loud and forgotten on the floor behind him.

"Leviathan!"

The petite blue Guardian snapped to attention, ocean blue eyes widening in her pale face.

"Fefnir!"

Then she was bolting into the room, her two unacknowledged escorts left behind as she dashed across the short distance, easily weaving around the clunky steel table to tightly grip her fellow Generals strong forearms, eager blue eyes peering into his face as if to make sure he was real.

"You're alive!" Her pert pink lips split into a smile. He felt his own lips draw back into a grin, exposing his elongated canines.

"_You're _alive!" He threw back his head and laughed boisterously. "And here I thought that _girly-bot_ body would have been _toasted_!"

Leviathans smile dropped into a frown. Then further twisted into a scowl as she released her grip on his arms, pulled back, and punched the obnoxious fire reploid.

Fefnir continued to laugh, not even trying to deflect her mostly ineffectual blows.

Ceil watched from the doorway, her hands clasped above her heart and confusion etched into her delicate features before she turned to the legendary reploid that silently watched the spectacle from her side.

"Are they… usually like this?" Her gentle blue eyes curiously probed Zeros stoic profile as he humourlessly watched the events inside the interrogation room, her soft voice barely carrying over the former fire Guardians rowdy mirth. There was a brief pause before Zeros attention shifted to gaze at the young prodigy from the corner of his eye.

"I can kill them, if you'd like."

Ceil smiled awkwardly up at the red reploid, not entirely sure how to respond.

The scientist turned away with a sigh, squared her shoulders, and marched into the room. She didn't need to look behind her to know the silent red reploid followed her without hesitation. At least she didn't have to worry about getting the bickering reploids attention- Fefnir fell silent upon laying eyes on the pink-clad Resistance leader, his expressive face becoming sombre. Leviathan quickly caught on that something was up and wheeled around to pin Ceil with cold blue eyes.

To her credit, the teenage genius didn't outwardly show how nervous she was as she pulled the nearest chair calmly, sitting down with the utmost dignity. Much to her quiet dismay, the two former Guardians continued standing, now towering over her with equal looks of distrust and suspicion. Zero came to stand at her side, eyes dark and his hand wrapped loosely around the hilt of his beam saber in silent warning. Ceil briefly debated standing up as well, but decided against it, figuring she'd only look more silly if she was jumping up and down. Instead she exhaled softly before serenely meeting the accusing gaze of the two exiles.

"I do apologize that we have to hold you both like this, but until we know what-"

"Where's Harpuia?" The scientist blinked in surprise, her mouth snapping shut in the wake of the unexpected interruption as her eyes locked with the unrelentingly intense gaze of the fire Guardian. Leviathan gave Fefnir a sidelong glance before her attention flickered back to the young scientist and her ancient protector.

"Shut up Fefnir. We're the ones asking questions here." Ceil gave the legendary reploid a worried look, though Zero still looked the definition of calm, cool, and collected, she had not missed the barely concealed threat in his tone. From the way the two Guardians suddenly shifted slightly, eyes hardening as they both met Zeros even stare, they hadn't either.

"We're not answering _anything_ until we know where he is." The ocean General retorted curtly as she crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. Zeros eyes narrowed dangerously, his grip tightening on his beam saber. Leviathan licked her tongue out in response. Ceil quickly glanced back and forth between the two parties, before bowing her head to stare at the table top.

"Zero… please stand down." The ancient reploid gave her a piercing look before reluctantly relaxing his posture, his arms also crossing over his chest. The two exiled Guardians relaxed as well, Fefnir scoffing openly while Leviathan simply smirked contemptuously. Zeros cool gaze never wavered, that unnerving calm quietly undermining the Neo Arcadians cocky confidence. There was a pause before the young scientist continued.

"Harpuia is... under our care as well, for now." She said softly, her gaze fixed on her gloved hands that lay ineffectually in her lap. "His power core is currently hooked up to the base generator, so he's in no real danger of dying but…" her gaze wandered shyly to the red reploid that stood attentively at her side, his unfathomable blue eyes focused intently on her pale face- the quiet strength at her side. Her eyes slid shut as she continued "As you both probably know, a reploid programmed with flight capabilities is obviously engineered with highly specialized materials, differing from what is used in the production of typical land-based mechaniloids due to the vastly different environments they were built to function within. An airborne mechaniloid must be comprised of lightweight components that are also durable enough to withstand rapid changes in pressure and weather extremes- to a reasonable extent at least. There are also certain calculations to be taken into account concerning weight, structural design, etc… Otherwise it would never get off the ground." Here she paused as she eyed the Neo Arcadian pair hesitantly. "Add into that mix elemental capabilities, specifically pertaining to electricity, and now you're looking at a reploid that needs to be properly grounded to start with, not to mention he would need to be built almost entirely out of non-conductive or suitably insulated components, or he'll more likely than not seriously damage himself with his own powers." The blond slowly shook her head and sighed softly. "Meaning that it is significantly more difficult to find the parts we need to repair Harpuia. Cerveau and I are doing our best with what resources we have at our disposal, and I'm glad to say his internal repair systems are back up to working at maximum efficiency, but with our currant lack of materials I'm afraid our hands are tied." Ceil gave the two Guardians that stood on the other side of the table a tired smile. "I'm confident that we _can_ fix him, I'm just not entirely sure _when_."

Leviathan and Fefnir shot each other unreadable looks, the blue reploids gaze falling to the table as the former fire General looked gravely at the Resistance leader.

"Is he awake?" the massive reploids voice was surprisingly soft. Ceils gaze flickered away uncomfortably.

"We're keeping him in stasis until we can repair the more… disconcerting structural damage."

Leviathans face pinched while Fefnir merely nodded solemnly, his gaze falling to the table as well. Silence fell over the four as the pink-clad human stole another glance around the table before opening her mouth to continue.

She was cut off- again- by Fefnir suddenly yawning loudly, his arms casually stretching above his head, knuckles almost grazing the ceiling of the small interrogation room, tight wound muscles shifting easily with the simple movement before he unceremoniously plopped down onto the only still standing chair on his side of the table. Its legs screamed against the steel floor in protest. A little pink tongue licked out to quickly moisten his dry lips absently, one massive arm wrapped lazily around the back on the steel chair as he sunk down to give Ceil a lethargic half-lidded gaze, the very picture of 'at ease'. It was strange to watch a structure literally built for intimidation move so… casually. And just like that, it seemed as if the previous conversation and all the connotations that it held was done, case closed, la fin, as everyone in the room perceptibly shifted into the next phase of the meeting. Leviathan cast the lazing Fefnir a poisonous look as she crouched down to pick up the other chair that had been discarded on the floor earlier, slamming its legs down with a suitable amount of vehemence, then perching her high-and-mighty bottom on the cool steel surface, her legs automatically crossing as she clasped her hands on the table, haughtily staring down her nose at the young genius that sat across from her. Zero remained exactly the same as before. Ceil sighed. The fire Guardian waved his hand as if she needed permission to speak. The teenage girl absently wondered how on earth the green Guardian handled his subordinates as she opened her mouth again to this time be, thankfully, uninterrupted.

"As for you two, we've repaired as much as we could and your internal repair systems should be more than enough to complete anything we couldn't get to…" Ceil squared her shoulders and eyed the Guardians thoughtfully, as though they were a puzzle she had to figure out. "Now I guess the real question is- do you know why you're here?"

There was a brief silence as both Neo Arcadian reploids froze. Leviathan quickly shot another confused glance at the fire Guardian at her side as he readjusted his position, sitting straight in his chair, his unfocused eyes gazing absently at the massive hands he inattentively spread on the flawless table surface. Her brows furrowed as she crossed her arms, a humourless chuckle escaping her lips.

"Why don't we skip the games and you tell us why you had _pretty boy _over there drag us back to your quaint little nest." The former ocean General snorted, inclining her head sharply toward the blond reploid that stood at the Resistance leaders side. Zero didn't so much as bat an eyelash as he evenly met the blue reploids scathing glare.

"I didn't bring anyone with me."

"And here I thought you were so taken with my beauty you threw caution to the wind and swept me away to your secret fortress to confess your undying love for me." Leviathan smirked as she flopped back on her chair, sarcasm dripping off each word.

"Don't be ridiculous." Though the ancient reploids voice remained deadpan, he didn't bother trying to hide rolling his eyes. The blue Guardian bristled. Ceil watched the exchange curiously, and then sighed, her gentle face softening.

"Do either of you remember what happened in the lab?" They young scientist asked sympathetically, her quiet voice carrying surprising gravity as both Guardians looked up at her. "You three came to us via transerver, almost seven hours after Zero returned to base. We were quite surprised, to put it mildly-"

"Wait, then that means you warped out of there and just left the three of us to _die_ in that God-forsaken dirt pit?" The only female Guardians fists clenched on the table as her face twisted with rage, her deadly glare honing in on the silent reploid that stood across from her. "You rotten _bastard_! After we came to save your sorry ass!" Surprisingly, something flickered across the deadpan reploids cold blue eyes, the barest hint of a frown touching his lips.

"I didn't abandon you. I was taken by the Mother Elf." Both of the former Guardians gaped incredulously at this. Leviathan's lips pinched in memory of black on black, ragged shadows writhing like twisted fingers in an unholy wreath around a porcelain-perfect face, she repressed a shudder at the memory of the seeping poison inside her body, the strange high that came with being possessed by the power of the Baby elves… The legendary reploid shut his eyes, turning away with what could only be described as a smug air about his dispassionate face. "Besides, we're enemies, remember? If through some dues ex I manage to destroy four out of five royal pains that have been standing in my way, why would I complain?"

Now both former Neo Arcadians bristled. It was about this point Ceil decided to do an intervention before things resorted to bloodshed.

"As I've asked before, do either of you know why you're here? How you got this server number?" The two previous Generals of Master Xs formidable armies looked away grimly; Leviathan crossing her arms again while Fefnir half heartedly drummed his thick fingers on the table top. The human looked back and forth between them, her eyebrows creasing with concern before continuing. "Why didn't you return to Neo Arcadia?" This was met with a loud scoff.

"Because as soon as our heads hit the servicing table in Weil's funhouse, we'd be reprogrammed to play in the good doctors damn puppet show faster than you can say 'bug nut crazy'." The red Guardian replied sullenly, his head leaning forward to rest his chin on the edge of the table. His blue companion sent him a dirty look before shooting a glare at the two Resistance members, daring them to mock the exiles current state. Instead of cruelty, understanding passed over the young leaders face as she looked down at the hands folded in her lap, nodding sagely. Zero gave his commander a questioning look, one thin eyebrow arching, but he remained silent to not disturb her thoughts.

"You can stay here… until Harpuias repairs are complete." She sighed heavily and shook her head. "But you both have to stay in this room- I'm sorry, but I just can't let you go wandering around the base without knowing your intentions." She stood up with barely a sound and gave the two a gentle smile. "I'll have some bed rolls and blankets brought in. If you need anything, please knock on the door and ask for either Zero or me, okay?" With that she turned on her heel and walked up to the door and knocked three times, her ever vigilant protector following up behind her, never taking his eyes off the imprisoned reploids, one hand hovering over his beam saber at all times until the door cracked open enough to let the petite scientist and the legendary reploid out. Zero needn't have put so much effort into the task of making sure the two former Generals didn't escape- both were a bit too stunned to even bother standing up. The door swung closed again with a clang of finality, Fefnir and Leviathan exchanged equally confused looks.

A short time later, the reinforced steel door slowly swung open once more, this time so an ever stoic Zero could haul in two bed rolls, a pillow, four bottles of water, and blankets impossibly piled on top of him like some sort of pack mule. Leviathan pounced on the only pillow. Fefnir compensated by tearing away one of the blue reploids sheets and balling it up to make a sloppy head rest. Leviathan retaliated by stepping on his hand with her pointy little high heel. And thus life went on.

Over the next couple hours the two learned a bit about Resistance life.

Like it didn't actually matter if you asked for Ceil or Zero, they both came anyway.

Or that the washrooms in the base were smaller than Leviathans laundry basket back in Neo Arcadia.

And that just because a steel table is welded to the floor doesn't _necessarily_ mean it's immobile. (Then again, where Fighting Fefnir is concerned, if he's willing to put his back into it there's very little that can really be considered immobile.)

But above all, the two Guardians learned that life in the Resistance base was unrelentingly, mind-numbingly, mercilessly _boring_.

Silence reigned over the small room as the large fire reploid lounged on his carelessly made bed roll, his hands folded behind his head in place of a pillow. That was okay though, he planned on stealing Leviathans next time she left the room. Said blue reploid rolled onto her other side on her small bed roll on the other side of the room. There was a brief pause before she suddenly growled irritably and sat upright, glanced around the room then hauled herself to her feet. Fefnir watched her casually walk across the room to grab the edge of the steel table that had been tucked into the corner and start to drag it back to where they were lying down, its uneven legs literally screaming the whole way. He made a face at the irritating sound, but didn't bother getting up to help the smaller General with her load. Instead he snuggled impossibly further down into the tangled mess of his blankets and imagined what kind of face the guards positioned outside the door were making in the wake of the sudden loud, _very _loud, sound. The red eyed reploid blinked slowly up at his companion as she gave a final tug to pull the table up between the two. She sighed loudly and rolled her eyes away from his gaze before unceremoniously tipping the wobbly table over. Fefnir winced away from the sharp clang it made in his ear. Leviathan smirked.

"This is our new official barrier- that's your side, this is mine." The red and white reploid frowned at his fellow Guardians words as he eyed the table critically. Indeed, a table with uneven legs made a poor table but an excellent wall, if he had to say so himself. His gaze flew back up to where the aqua reploid had been standing a moment ago- she had ducked back over to her side. His frown deepened.

"Your side is bigger."

"I know." He could hear her shuffling her blankets around, apparently climbing into her bedroll. So much for stealing her pillow… "If you even think about coming over here, I'll make you _wish_ I was Omega." Her tinkling voice was muffled by blankets. Fefnir turned away, wistfully staring at the ceiling as he mulled over his thoughts.

"Levi… do you remember what happened in the lab?"

"Zero beat the stuffing out of himself and ditched us." The blue reploids tone was flat and uninterested. Fefnir rolled his eyes.

"I meant after that." Irritation brought an edge to his rough voice. There was a pause before his female companion groaned in frustration.

"I've got nothing. Apparently my data was corrupted." The ocean General sighed. "Do you remember anything?"

Fefnirs jaw set as he narrowed his eyes up at the ceiling.

_He couldn't breath. _

_His first impression of the world was dark, crushing, and suffocating. He squeezed his eyes shut against the warnings and errors exploding into his mind as he desperately tried to focus on his hands… where his hands were… for some reason he couldn't feel them properly… He didn't care, he needed to breath- his arms lifted clumsily, renewed pain ripping up his brutalized body, and he heard more than felt a sick grinding sound from where he assumed his right hand had collided with whatever was pressing down on top of him. He didn't want to open his eyes to see the damage. Instead he pushed against the oppressive force with everything he had, his hand crunching terribly, the weight on his chest becoming slippery where he was trying to use his hand to push. Nothing happened. It was as though the weight of the earth itself had collapsed upon him and was slowly crushing the life out of him. He clenched his teeth, notably disturbed by just how many of them felt loose in his jaw, and strained against the weight, his arms trembling and the load he was attempting to lift becoming increasingly slick. Then something shifted, the weight being lifted, ever so slightly. He paused to readjust his arms, his hands sliding up to clench in front of his face as he bore the burden on his elbows and forearms. Fiery red eyes squinted open as he strained against the weight bearing down on him. Slowly the load shifted, agonizingly slowly, before a force greater than his own took hold and the cement block slid off his chest to land with a heavy thump at his side, smaller bits of rubble that had been disturbed by the movement skittering away. His arms flopped back to his sides, but not before he caught the vague impression of crumpled metal and twisted gore from the corner of his eye. He twisted his neck to survey the remains of the lab in silent shock, his red eyes almost immediately meeting the impossibly green eyes of his superior officer… At first his hope soared, his failing senses screamed that here was an answer, an escape, that he was safe and everything was going to be alright, because that was what Harpuia had always been to the fire reploid, and some childish part of him clung to the ridiculous idea that the sky General was somehow immortal._

_At first. _

_His mind refused to process what his optics observed, while some detached part of himself marvelled at how cruel it was that a reploid could withstand such damage and not die, the green Guardians face taut and frighteningly pale compared to the red red red that stained his armour._

_The former Guardian of fire called out to him, told him to wake up the ocean General that lay unnaturally still not too far from where the thunder reploid had fallen, to tell her she looked uncute and stupid like that, and Fefnir wanted, wanted so badly for his superior to just stand up and kick the only female of their group, who would grumble about being woken up and get up as well. They'd both simply wipe the red away and share an exasperated look when they realized their companion had somehow managed to really hurt himself __**again**__, and together they'd help him up. Harpuia would lecture him about how if he'd try being more careful and showing a bit more finesse he probably wouldn't blow himself up nearly as much as he somehow did, and Leviathan would cackle and tease him, because deep down inside she was pure evil._

_But Harpuia was broken._

_Was broken, was broken, was broken, was broken wasbrokenwasbrokenwasbroken_

_The green Guardian tilted his head to the fire reploid, an empty imitation of his usual smart nod, and Fefnir couldn't read the expression in his bitter green eyes. He didn't want to._

"No," the red and white reploid grunted abruptly as he rolled onto his side, busying himself with untangling a blanket to actually cover himself with. "My systems must have gotten pretty shaken up in the blast too."

Nothing more was said for quite some time, Fefnir lying still staring at the wall, willing sleep to come so he could shut down and recharge his power core and his system could finish repairing itself. But sleep would not come. Instead the thoughts and memories poured forth as though he'd punched a hole in a dam, relentlessly cycling through his mind again and again, and the harder he tried to stop the flow, the more potent it became. When suddenly it hit him.

It hit him with that unquestionable clarity that all ideas that are utterly insane spring forth with.

Fefnir rolled over quickly to stare at the table/wall between him and his fellow Guardian, eyeing it for a moment as he felt his idea being slowly chewed into a plan as he mulled it over.

"Leviathan- are you awake?" he hissed into the stillness. Stillness was his response. He frowned and sprung up off the bed roll to peer over the top of the barrier. "Leviathan!" the blue female stirred in her sleep to blink groggily up at the tall reploid.

"You crossed the barrier. Prepare to die." The ocean General mumbled drowsily as she put significantly more effort than it should take to sit up and glare wearily at her fellow officer. Fefnir grinned the way he usually did before he did something that most would consider suicidal, then he told her his plan. Leviathans glare faded as her eyes widened, the words flowing eagerly from the fire reploids mouth and when he finished she simply looked away to stare at the wall on the far side of the small room. For a while she said nothing as she silently contemplated the red Guardians utterly insane idea.

"You know… they'll never let us back in, right?" She whispered softly, not looking away from the wall. The red and white reploids grin pulled back into something more bitter as he looked away to stare in the same direction as the petite girl.

"We never could go back, Levi, not after Omega." His tone was surprisingly light hearted as he leaned against the table/wall casually. Leviathans face darkened. What hurt most about his off hand comment was that it was true, she just wasn't ready to let go of what she was, what she had always been up until that damned Dr Weil got spat back from outer space. The silence stretched and she felt more than saw Fefnir shift his weight uncomfortably. "…Leviathan?"

Suddenly she sprung to her feet, stomping towards the door to give it three sharp raps, her arms crossing irritably.

"Hey! Bring in Ceil or Zero or whoever you manage to haul out of bed!" The ocean General harped through the thick steel before one of their guards had a chance to acknowledge her knock. She whirled on her heel and marched back to the center of the room and crouched down to firmly plant one palm on the floor, then pinned Fefnir with an impatient look. The fire reploid snapped to attention and gracelessly scuttled over to where his fellow officer was and crouched down in front of her. She withdrew her palm and gazed meaningfully at the red Guardian. Fefnir in turn blinked down at the sizable patch of frost on the steel floor, edges jagged with thin spider webs of ice, and the small dot he had inadvertently melted into it with his forefinger when he'd crouched down. "Now," her tone was strictly business. "How were you thinking we'd do this without getting caught, shot, or all of the above?"

It didn't take long before the door slowly swung open to reveal a rather rumpled but alert looking Ceil and the ever stoic Zero who both stopped dead to gawk (well, the human gawked, Zero gazed impassively, but it was a questioning sort of impassively) at the odd sight of what was being drawn into the floor, or rather the frost covering the floor. The patch was covered with an almost illegible mishmash of lines and dots melted haphazardly into the layer of ice that sat on top of the steel floor. The two occupants quit arguing to stand eagerly to greet the scientist and her expressionless protector.

"You said that if you had access to the correct parts you could fix Harpuia, right?" The young scientist blinked in the face of the abrupt question. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it certainly hadn't been the ocean General jumping on her about how the repairs on her superior officer were coming. Fefnir glared at the blue reploid at his side. She was totally trying to take the credit for his idea!

"Y-yes, of course…" she managed to stammer before the much larger fire Guardian stepped up.

"Whatever you need, we can get it for you." Ceils eyes widened in shock as her gaze shifted between the two former Guardians at Fefnirs words.

"Where?" Zeros eyes narrowed suspiciously. Leviathan and Fefnir exchanged a look before meeting the small scientists imploring and the ancient reploids distrustful gaze with equal looks of quiet determination.

"Neo Arcadias Faculty of Engineering and Research."

-.-.-

There. Super huge chapter to hopefully make up for my lameness in posting it so late. Ten pages and alas, not much seems to be happening… Gah, bridge chapters suck -.-

However, the next chapter finally brings in some much needed action! Whoo! And with any luck it'll be up sometime before next month! Augh…

-Yuki


	4. Yet More Exposition

A/N: Once again, many thanks to everyone who's reviewed, you guys rock my socks like a rocking, socking thing.

Slight language warning this chapter, it shouldn't be too over the top though :)

_This Disclaimer is intended for household use only. Do not immerse in water__: _All characters belong to their respective legally binding contracts, companies, and peoples.

**Procession**

**3:**

_In Which Everyone Winds Up a Wee Tad Miffed _

_Harpuia dreams._

_T__he sky was falling and the earth trembled as ash fell like snow around blackened steel beams- teeth, crooked teeth in the impossible maw of a world that had swallowed all that was good. _

_And a doll, a doll, going through its hollow parodies of breathing heartbeating red skinandfleshand bone spillingbleedinglife precious life. _

_A thumbprint__ of humanity, a brushstroke of emotion, a picture of perfection, a portrait of a man. _

-.-.-

"Absolutely not." The ancient red reploids words carried the ring of finality as both Guardians faces twisted in fury. Ceil flinched at the sound of the former fire General clenching his fist and slamming it against the wall, the reinforced steel giving way as easily as tissue paper under the sudden brute force. If Fefnir even noticed the damage he'd caused he gave no outward sign of it as he glowered at the two Resistance members.

"This is bullshit!" He snarled, throwing his massive arms in the air to emphasize his rage. "This is _our _mission, and we'll go if we damn well _please_! What the hell makes you think you have the right to tell us what to do?!"

"You don't honestly think we're going to send two of our known enemies back to their home base, unobserved, after they've been tramping all over our facilities and just patiently wait around for them to obediently return?" Zeros tone was sharp, his blue eyes piercing cold as he evenly met the burning rage in the glare of the two Neo Arcadians. Leviathan visibly bristled at what the red reploid was implying.

"Unlike you maverick _scum_, we would never leave one of ours behind!" Her voice rose with her temper, the thought of being labelled so cowardly as to just abandon her superior officer to the hands of the Resistance stung her pride to its core. It gave her a small degree of smug satisfaction to see the ancient reploids eyes narrow at the term 'maverick'.

"It's not you up and ditching Harpuia that I'm worried about, it would be a great relief to never have to see either of you again. However, I know you're both too grossly incompetent to function without him barking his endless montage of orders at you, so I know you'll be back eventually," his lips were pinched, his eyes dark as he continued. "I just doubt you'll be coming back alone, and I would rather avoid having one of Weils armies coming down on our doorstep."

"We won't go to Weil!" the fire Guardian managed to grind out, his eyes narrowed slits of fury. "If we were going to go crawling back to that twisted bastard we would have done it to begin with! Is your audio sensor damaged or do we just have to say that in some special language for you to get it?!"

"And we're supposed to believe you've both turned over a new leaf, just as quick as that?" Zero crossed his arms over his chest, unrelenting as he scoffed, his deadpan voice never wavering. "How do we know this isn't all just a set up? That Weil hasn't already been tinkering around in your head, trying to get an inside job?"

"You…!" Fefnir spat, burning hate spilling over into the simple word as he took a menacing step forward, one clenched fist raising as the ancient red reploid before him shifted his stance in less than a heartbeat, his hand darting down to the beam weapon concealed at his side, cold blue eyes narrowed and calculating. However the former fire General stopped short to blink in confusion down at the thin blue arm that had suddenly thrust in front of him. The red haze slowly cleared from his vision as he followed its length to meet the meaningful look from his fellow Guardian. The battle of wills lasted only a moment before he growled in disgust, tearing his gaze away and crossing his arms over his chest as he settled to simply pin the Resistance members with a look of seething fury. Even Fefnir knew a battle he couldn't win… unarmed, at least.

"What do you even know about the Faculty?" the ocean General slowly lowered her arm to her side once more, as Zero gave her his usual piercing, unreadable gaze in silence. Her lips pulled back into a small, grim smile, though her eyes still burned. "Nothing. As I thought. You'd be lucky if you could even find the right _building_, let alone the proper materials to trans back-"

"I'll figure it out." The ancient red reploid interjected abruptly as he spun gracefully on his heel and sauntered towards the door, showing as far as he was concerned, the conversation was over. Ceils mouth popped open as if she was going to speak, thought better and snapped it shut again, instead she cast the two a torn, apologetic look, before also turning and skittering to catch up to her protector. Leviathans face twisted in rage, the clenched fists at her side trembling.

"And what are we supposed to do while you play hero? Sit around and wait patiently like good little _prisoners_ while you lord Harpuias condition over our heads?!" She snapped, her voice becoming shrill as she lost her composure in the wake of her ancient foes unnervingly calm façade once more, and she hated him for bringing her to this state, over and over again. He didn't even look back as the metal door swung shut in the two Resistance members wake. She bent down and grabbed the first thing she could wrap her hands around- a bottle of water- and threw it with all her might against the closed door. It shattered against the unrelenting steel, fragmented shards of ice scattering uselessly across the floor as she turned away with a huff and stomped back to her bedroll. She hadn't even realized she'd frozen it.

-.-.-

The young Resistance leader leaned back away from the screen, petite gloved hands reaching up to wearily rub her temples as her expressive blue eyes fluttered shut. If Neo Arcadias Faculty of Engineering and Research on-grounds security was even half as elaborate as its intricate online defences, then poor Zero really had his work cut out for him. Almost on cue the door leading to the command room slid open, revealing said dispassionate reploid. His aloof blue eyes immediately locked unwaveringly onto her as he stalked purposefully into the spacious room to stand silent upon the large transerver base pad, dutifully awaiting her command. She rose slowly, one small hand gripping the edge of the counter, unseen beneath the disciplined steel behind her young visage.

"I'm sorry, Zero, it took longer than anticipated to hack into the central database. Are you ready?" The solemn warrior only nodded slightly in response to her question before she continued. "The Faculty of Engineering and Research isn't so much one building as it is actually a large organization, consisting of seven main buildings, four military hangers, and several small off-site extensions scattered throughout the city and across the continent. " Ceil paused to shake her head wearily. "It is a massive establishment with many, many branches, Zero. From what we can gather it seems to have a hand in pretty much every aspect of Neo Arcadian life. It's the name behind military advances, medical technologies, education, city infrastructure, and as far as we can tell, it even has roots in parliament- all of the city's major systems are run on networks established through the Faculty." The human paused to sigh softly. "It's a fairly daunting task to navigate such a huge and secure system, but I think I've managed to locate exactly what we're looking for." The large computer screen flickered to life at the young prodigy's words, revealing a computer generated image of what appeared to be a sprawling industrial park consisting of several buildings of various heights and design. "On the main campus there are nine main buildings, however, only seven actually belong to the Faculty- the other two buildings are a university and the student residence. These seven buildings are referred to as the 'Central Seven', and the bulk of production that goes on in the Faculty is done here. The one we need is called the 'General Coulton building', which houses the department of aerospace engineering and design. Now this is where things get a bit difficult…" She hesitated as her gazed flickered from the red reploids intent face to the glowing screen before her. "I've managed to hack into the buildings security system to disable password entry man trap doors. Once I get confirmation from you to say you've infiltrated the building, I'll replace the security video live feed with a pre-recorded loop, so you'll be able to do what you need to without worrying about being picked up on camera. However, you'll still have to deal with any on-site security you run into before they can set off a distress signal, because if the rest of the Faculty suspects that there's something up, I can't say how long I'll be able to keep them from uncovering our hack job and sending in reinforcements."

"Fair enough." The ancient reploid once again nodded to show he understood. "Where do I find the necessary materials?" The pink clad scientist bit her lower lip in silence, her brows furrowed down at something on the screen before her.

"… I'm not sure." She said softly after a short pause. "There are conflicting inventory records listing what materials are kept in what areas. I would say your best bet would be to first check storage bunker AE-273 located on level B-2."

"_B_-2? As in a basement level?" Zero tilted his head slightly to the side, his expression giving away none of his thoughts.

"Some of the buildings are extremely old, Zero, dating back to before the Elf Wars. The General Coulton building is one of two that we know for certain have a secret underground network of storage bunkers and labs that were built during the war for humans and reploids to take refuge in during fire bombing raids and military invasion." Here she stopped herself and smiled slightly. "Much like our own base. However, most of the deeper levels within the Coulton building have been blocked off due to instability and cave ins. There are a few labs still in use, mostly though the basement levels are used as storage."

"And if they're not there?" Silence followed the legendary reploids simple question as the pink clad scientists eyes flickered down to the small gloved had that still gripped the console. Zero watched her fidget and couldn't shake the sinking feeling that he wasn't going to like what came next.

"I would like… I think it would be best if you took one of the Guardians with you…".

"No." His eyes narrowed slightly at the mere thought. He didn't like that. Ceils lips pinched.

"What Leviathan said earlier was true though, they both know the layout of those buildings, I mean, they went there frequently enough for repairs and formal functions- as far as I know, they were even constructed there." She shook her head in frustration at the ancient reploids stubbornness. "If anyone were to have any idea where else to look, it would be one of them, Zero, even you must know that. Besides, it would probably be good to have someone else there to help you out in a pinch-"

"Or stab me in the back." He paused for a moment as though he was contemplating something before he continued. "Or shoot me in the face for that matter."

"Zero…" The young human gazed imploringly down at her enigma of a protector, the memory of the desperation in their captives voices, their eyes whispering in the back of her mind… Her grip tightened on the console. "Please."

He eyed his commander in silence for a moment longer before he turned away, his face drawing tight with his distaste at the task he'd been assigned.

"Fine." Ceil smiled gently at Zeros growled agreement.

"I'm sure they'll thank you."

"I'm not doing it for them." He finished coolly as he turned away and stalked silently out of the command room.

-.-.-

**IMPORTANT: **I know this is ridiculously short for the amount of time I've made you guys wait, and I know I suck :(

However, I leave for a month and a half long journey through Europe… tomorrow morning. So between preparing for that, pulling a whole swack of overtime at work, and chipping away at two rather labour intensive costumes, I haven't had much time to work on this… However, I have the next segment already planned out and loosely written up. So it shouldn't take me long to flesh it out and throw it up as soon as I get back (and from this point on, I should be free to post nothing but long chapters like the previous one!). As I've already mentioned before, you guys are awesome and it's so incredibly lame for me to pull this one, however, I didn't want to leave you hanging until I got back, so here we go!

So I guess to sum things up, I sincerely apologize, and I'll hear from you all again in July! :D


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